Fashion 101: Getting Paid in Exposure Isn’t That Bad

January 24, 2017

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Everyone takes time to reflect on the previous year’s experiences and use those lessons to plan ahead for every aspect of life from love and relationships to money and career. Among those searching for direction are young “creatives” trying to figure out how to manoeuvre industries with no finite blueprint to succeed.

Even worse, there aren’t enough opportunities to go around which fuels fierce competition. Backstabbing and sabotage are common place in creative careers because everyone is just trying to eat at the same table with no extra seats. Making the journey to the top a long and windy one for most.

A lot of amazing creatives have cracked under the constant rejection and frustration of there never being a budget to fund their ideas and given up.

In all honesty – aside from resilience and tenacity – the key difference between successful creatives and those who struggle eternally is a strong foundation on which their career was built. Doing the core brick-laying at the beginning of a creative career is a vital part of what will result in its longevity later. How does one go about that? W-O-R-K.

Paying jobs at the start of a creative career are also known as “pipe dreams” and are rarer than men who don’t tell lies – especially when you’re considered a “nobody” and have zero influence whatsoever. Taking as much work as you can in order to gain exposure to further build a career in this industry is just part of the journey, yet – in this day – newbies seem so determined to skip this step.

Granted, one cannot put food on the table or clothes on their back with “experience” and “exposure”, but what is your bargaining chip when you have neither and are at the bottom of the food chain determine to see yourself at the top? With no proven track record, the reality is that people are taking a risk by hiring you, the failure of which could be avoided by using a known creative with a packed portfolio and a reputation. On the flip side, though, many of those organisations giving out trade exchange opportunities are usually trying to short change creatives to save money.

So really, when you are young, ambitious and hungry for success (and money), it becomes a balancing act of knowing when to say “no” and when to suck it up and put in the groundwork. It is crucial to learn to discern between an opportunity and a scam. Usually, a job mostly or only paying on exposure is worth more in the long run, other times it’s really a waste of your time, talent and skills. Learn the difference!

If a job or gig will result in you adding to your professional network of connections who can possibly advance your career in the direction you are trying to take it or adds a new dimension or important name to your portfolio, taking the “L” of a smaller paycheck is worth considering. Because building a dependable network and solid portfolio one can always fall back on whenever we hit a slump is the key to lasting in these creative industries.

Your career won’t be in it’s infancy forever, soon you will make it and be able to pay rent and buy nice things. Getting to the point where your work speaks for itself means the total amounts on those invoices will only get bigger.

Accelerate Tunes

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ACCELERATE is the youth haven. We've built a reputation on being a consistent source of information & inspiration in the fashion, music & entertainment culture of Nigeria/Africa, both on the continent and beyond.

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